Youtube Red Brings Paid Memberships To Video Platform
It’s difficult to absolutely give away a service for free on the internet without eventually backsliding on profitability. No matter how integrated Youtube becomes into the average person’s life, there are only so many people and so much time that can be spent using the service. That’s why it’s no shocker that Youtube has introduced a new paid membership service called Youtube Red, offering a multitude of additional services and extras at the cost of $9.99 per month starting on October 28th.
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While the name might not be the most inspired choice, the benefits of a Youtube Red service might be beneficial for the upper echelon of people spending their time on the platform. It allows you to have a better peace of mind with an ad-free service that allows you to save videos to watch offline on your mobile device, or even in the background. The membership extends to all devices you sign into Youtube, including the Youtube Gaming app.
Furthermore, its membership pairs with the recently-announced Youtube Music, which will let you do the same for music as the paid membership does for videos, including offline listening and saving of tracks. Both services will be available under one membership at the $9.99 price point per month, and even works with Google Play Music. Finally, in the near future, Youtube Red will offer original content from top-name Youtube content creators, including PewDiePie, Fine Bros, Rooster Teeth, MatPat, CollegeHumor, Tobuscus and more.
It’s a shame that the launch of Youtube Red seems to be tailored for the absolute highest-subscribed channels, which often pander content to the lowest common denominator in their field (outside of Rooster Teeth and the rare CollegeHumor video post-2011). I would love to grab a membership if it means it goes to the creators I watch. Speaking of, it would be great to see the details about where the additional money would be going, as it would be great to see a cut go to the channels I watch as opposed to the creators I don’t.
Youtube Red will launch only in the US starting on October 28th. Additional regions will be announced at a later date.